


Merry Christmas, Nancy

by PepperRiley



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, One-Shot, season one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-19 23:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14883669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PepperRiley/pseuds/PepperRiley
Summary: This was a one-shot request about what took place the scene after Nancy and Steve on the couch at Christmas in S1 E8: Chapter 8: The Upside Down. The request was as follows:"I want to know what Steve was thinking in that moment, since not only does he show how nice of a person he is, but he's also grappling with the fact that his girlfriend was that close to emotionally cheating on him."I hope you like it!





	Merry Christmas, Nancy

            Steve sat in the Wheeler’s family room, next to the Christmas Tree, listening to Ted snore, letting perfectly good popcorn go to waste. He was happy to be here, waiting for Nancy to return to the couch so they could watch a movie and he could give her his present.

            She’d excused herself to give Jonathan a gift, a gift that Steve had purchased to make amends for smashing Jonathan’s camera. That wasn’t a shining moment for Steve, but he’d believed himself justified to protect Nancy’s privacy and reputation. A reputation he would slander only a few days later. Another mistake he’d have to make amends for.

            And he did. He took his beating, he scrubbed his misdeeds, and he put himself in harm’s way to be a better man. To grow, to mature, and to give a shit about something.

            That something was Nancy Wheeler. She’d broken his heart when he saw her with Jonathan, but it didn’t stop him from wanting. And it did teach him to stop running.

            Things had always come easy for Steve; he was rich, he was handsome, and he was popular. He didn’t have to try. Until he met a girl that just wasn’t enough for. So he traded in his own reputation for a new one, a better one, and he started trying.

 

            After the Demogorgon incident, Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan scattered. Jonathan spent time helping Joyce and Will pick up the pieces, both literally and figuratively, of their lives. Nancy tried to mourn Barb and Steve did everything in his power to try and comfort her. He wasn’t doing it right, but he was doing something.

            Nancy secretly held out hope for Jonathan, while Steve pined for Nancy. And soon she realized that Jonathan wasn’t the boy holding her while she cried. It was the boy she was sure she should have written off.

            Steve would cradle her face in his hands and wipe the tears away with his thumbs. He’d kiss the top of her head while she recounted her childhood with her best friend. He’d hold her to his chest while she showed him polaroids of their adventures through junior high and he’d laugh with her as she pointed out some of their more terrible fashion choices.

            “No wonder you thought I was in band,” she laughed.

            He took the photo from her hand. “No, it’s cute. You both look sweet.”

            Pretty soon Steve felt he knew Barb and he quietly held onto a shred of guilt since she’d gone missing from his swimming pool. Would Nancy blame him? Did she think it was his fault? He hoped not.

            Nancy gripped the photo once more and let herself settle against Steve, while also allowing herself to settle for Steve. And eventually she’d love him, never enough, but she’d love him as much as she could.

           

 

            Nancy returned to the couch to see Steve washed in the lights of the Christmas Tree, wearing the dorkiest sweater imaginable, and she secretly let herself long for the boy that just drove away. Although, when she laid her head on Steve’s chest and he took her small hand in his, nuzzling against her hair, she let herself want this one. She let herself be wanted by the boy she’d forgiven.

            Nancy, just as her father, fell asleep during the movie. Steve cradled her against him and wondered if she was as happy as he was. He could feel lingering sadness, which he attributed to her mourning of Barbra. He didn’t let his thoughts wander to Jonathan when he could help it, because that’s how he lost Nancy in the first place. He trusted her and he was going to show her just how much he could change. He could accept their friendship without jealousy and he could sleep well knowing he was the one. She’d picked him and he’d do what it took to show her that she’d chose right.

            He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and she stirred.

            “Steve?”

            “Hey, Nancy,” he whispered.

            “Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She sat up, turning to face him.

            He leaned over the arm of the couch and grabbed a gift wrapped in red adorned with tiny snowmen. “I have to get going right away, but I wanted you to open this first.”

            She smiled, taking the gift. “I haven’t wrapped yours yet, though.”

            “That’s ok. I can wait.” He nodded to the gift in her hands. “Open it.” He bit into his lip nervously.

            She turned it over, finding the seam of the wrapping paper, and she tore into it. She gingerly flipped the gift over to find a silver framed photograph of her and Barb as kids smiling up at her. There was nothing she could do to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. She lightly traced her fingers over the glass, outlining Barb’s hopeful face.

            Steve stared at her, worried about making her cry. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

            She looked up at him, eyes glossy. “Where did you get this?”

            “I asked Barb’s mom. I wanted you to get to spend Christmas with her.”

            Nancy looked down at the photo once more, tears hitting the glass. She used her sweater to wipe them away. “Thank you, Steve.”

            He brought a hand to her face, wiping a tear away. “Merry Christmas, Nancy.”

            She closed the space between them, leaving a soft kiss on his lips. “Merry Christmas.”


End file.
